Bulgaria Name days () in
Bulgaria have almost always been associated with Bulgarian
Eastern Orthodox celebrations. Some names can be celebrated on more than one day and some have even started following foreign traditions (like Valentina being celebrated on the
Catholic St. Valentine's Day). Two of the most popular name days in Bulgaria are St. George's day (, celebrated on 6 May) and St. John's day (Ивановден, celebrated on 7 January). Another example of a name day connected with Christianity is
Tsvetnitsa (,
Palm Sunday). On this day people with names derived from flowers, trees, herbs, etc., celebrate. Name days are frequently connected with some year or season features like
Dimitrovden (Dimitar's day, 26 October) marking the beginning of winter and
Gergyovden (George's day, 6 May) heralding the end of it according to traditional folklore. Name days in Bulgaria are important and widely celebrated. Children celebrate their name days by bringing sweets and chocolates to school. By an ancient Bulgarian tradition, everybody is welcome on name days; there is no need to invite guests. Presents are given. Common well-wishes include "May you hear your name from grandchildren and great-grandchildren!" (), "May you hear your name only with good!" () and "May your name be healthy and well!" ().
Croatia In
Croatia, name day () is a day corresponding to a date in the Catholic calendar when the respective
saint's day is celebrated. Even though the celebration of the name day is less usual than celebrating a birthday, the name day is more often the occasion of congratulations from a broader number of acquaintances. This is due to the fact that the date of birth is seldom known and the person's name is known to many. The names that are celebrated on the certain saint's day are all the names that correspond to the respective name and all the derivative names. For example, if there are different versions of the same name in different languages (e.g.
John), i.e. different versions in
Slavic,
Romance,
Germanic or other language groups, all the respective names are celebrated.
Czech Republic In the Czech Republic, each day of the year corresponds to a personal name (or several names). People celebrate their name day ( or dated ) on the date corresponding to their own given name. Name days are commonly of less importance than birthdays to Czech people. However, name-day celebrations can be, and often are, held together with friends or co-workers of the same name and in this way can grow in size and importance. In the past, by law, parents were not allowed to choose just any name for a child. This has changed, although it is still common to choose the name from the name-day "calendar". The original list was the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, but changes have been made to reflect the present-day usage of names. Any existing name, Czech or foreign, can be given, but not domestic or diminutive forms. Name days corresponding to some of the most frequently occurring names in the Czech Republic gain slightly more importance than others. For example, the dates associated with the names
Josef (Joseph) and
Karel (Charles) are commonly known even by people with different names. However, the popularity of these names has decreased in the last years (6836 Josefs were born in 1947, but only 638 in 2014).
Denmark Danes have for name days (). However, the custom of celebrating one's name day is practically unknown in Denmark, and few Danes know when their name day is.
Finland Finns celebrate their name days (, ) according to their
given names on the dates set by the calendar published by the
University of Helsinki Almanac Office (). Every day except
New Year's Day,
Christmas Day and
29 February is a name day. For each day, there are names in both Finnish and Swedish; the names are frequently, but not always,
cognates. Women are slightly underrepresented in the calendar: approximately 45 per cent of name days celebrate only women while some 49 per cent are name days of men. The rest relate to names which may be given to either sex, such as Rauni (15 July), or which feature both women's and men's names, such as Oliver and Olivia (29 May). There are many traditional beliefs associated with various name days, especially involving the weather and the appropriate times to perform agricultural tasks, such as planting some particular crop. For example, there is a saying that "
Jaakko (James) casts a cold rock into the water", meaning that on Jaakko's day, 25 July, the lake and sea waters will start getting colder, which is not far from true on average. The seven days from the 18th to the 24th of July, all being women's name days, are known as "the women's week" (
naistenviikko). It is popularly believed to be an especially rainy week, and this is to some extent supported by statistics, as late July and early August are the rainiest times of the year in Finland. The Almanac Office reviews the name lists at intervals of 5 to 10 years, adding new names as they gain popularity and removing others that have faded into disuse. The University of Helsinki owns the copyright to the name lists and their corresponding dates. The
Finnish Orthodox Church has its own calendar of name days, corresponding to the feasts of Orthodox
saints.
France In
France name days () have long been very important in everyday culture and it was traditional to give a small gift to a friend or family member on their name day. Some days of the year are commonly referred to by their saint's day: "la [
sc. fête de]
Saint Sylvestre" is
New Year's Eve; "la
Saint Jean" is
Midsummer (24 June); and so on.
Austria, Germany In
Austria and
Germany name days () used to be widely popular in traditionally Catholic southern and western regions, where historically they were more important than birthdays. Since the 1950s, the tradition has mostly disappeared even in Catholic families.
Greece and Cyprus In
Greece and
Cyprus, a name day (, or ) is celebrated in a similar way to a
birthday, except for expected differences (e.g. no
birthday cake).
Italy The Italian word for "name day" is (). People often receive small gifts on their name day, and cakes may be baked. Name days are determined according to the
sanctorale, a cycle found in the
General Roman Calendar which associates a few saints with almost every day. Traditionally, if more than one saint bore a child's name, his parents fix the name day at
christening by choosing a specific saint. In the case of multiple given names, the child will celebrate only one, usually the first. In southern Italy, name days have greater significance and may even take priority over birthdays.
Malta Similar to Italy, in the Maltese archipelago, the
onomastiku is commemorated, also derived from the
sanctorale; however, no cultural importance is given to it except in the older generations.
Latvia In
Latvia, name days () are settled on certain
dates; each day (except for 29 February in a
leap year) is a name day. Usually,
Latvian calendars list up to five names each day—around 1,000 names a year. Recently an extended calendar with around 5,000 names was published, and there are also a few extended calendars found on the
Internet, listing names even on 29 February. 29 February is a popular date to celebrate name days of people who do not have a name day; another such date is 22 May. People who do not have name days in ordinary calendars can enjoy many variations when to celebrate—on 29 February or 22 May and, if they have their name in an extended calendar or in the church calendar, on the date listed there (so in a leap year such a person can choose from 2 to 4 dates when to celebrate). The Latvian name-days calendar is updated at one or two-year intervals; anyone can suggest a name for the calendar, usually by sending an application to the State Language Centre (). Celebrations are very much like birthday celebrations. It is popular to celebrate name days in one's workplace—usually, the person who has a name day prepares snacks for well-wishers, and during the day colleagues arrive one after another with flowers, sweets and small presents to greet them. Sometimes, especially in smaller companies, a certain time is set for the main celebrations. It is normal to come to a name day celebration without an invitation. At school one is expected to arrive with candy for classmates and teachers. Celebrating name days at home is similar to celebrating a birthday, although it may vary depending on the period of time between one's birthday and name day; usually, one will eat cake with household members and receive presents. Some families may even celebrate their name days more than their birthdays if the name day falls on a date during a much nicer season. For example: they are more likely to organise a big party for a name day that falls in the summer months than a birthday during the months with bad weather (late autumn or winter).
Latin America The
onomástico or
onomástica in Latin America is the feast of the saint in honor of which someone was named. It is very common for this term to be used as a synonym for birthdays, but this word refers to the list of the names of the saints, so they are not synonymous. Although (especially years before) by popular tradition the newborn son was named with the name that the Catholic saint indicated for that day, the day of someone's birthday does not always coincide with the day of his name. In this way, women called "Rosa" could celebrate their name on the day of Saint Rose of Viterbo in Italy, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne in France or Saint Rose of Lima on 23 August in Peru; women called "Mercedes" celebrate on 24 September, and men called "Joseph" celebrate on 19 March, regardless of whether or not they were born on those dates. For the devout their saint day can be more important and significant than their own birthday.
North Macedonia Name-days (, ) in
North Macedonia have been celebrated throughout the history of this country. It has some similarities with the other Balkan countries but there are some name days unique to the country. The name days are scheduled according to the
Macedonian Orthodox Church following the
Julian calendar. Each month there are several name days which are celebrated by the people with the same name. Some of the name-days that are more significant to the history and culture are non-working days for the whole country. At these days everyone is invited or would like to say "" ("Whoever comes—is welcomed") in Macedonian. Bringing presents is optional (usually wine or something symbolic). A typical phrase to salute the celebrant is "Let your name last forever" ("", "") or "For years to come" ("" / ""). Among the most celebrated name-days in North Macedonia are St. Stefan (9 January), Epiphany (19 January), St. John (20 January), Blagovec (7 April), St. George (6 May), Ss. Cyril and Methodius (24 May), St. Kostadin and Elena (3 June), St. Peter (12 July), St. Paul (12 July), and St. Dimitar (8 November). Sv Nikola is the most celebrated (19 December).
Poland alongside gifts Traditionally, name-day celebrations () have enjoyed a celebratory emphasis greater than that of birthday celebrations in parts of Poland. However, birthday celebrations are increasingly popular and important, particularly among the younger generations. involve the gathering and socializing of friends and family at the celebrant's home, as well as the giving of gifts and flowers at home and elsewhere, such as at the workplace. Local calendars often contain the names celebrated on a given day.
Romania Name days () in Romania are associated with the Orthodox Christian saint's celebrations. The celebrations are made very much in the same way as in Greece (see above). Name days are less important than birthdays, and those who have the name of that particular saint celebrate on that day. Some of the more important name days are 1 January: Sf. Vasile (St. Basil), 7 January: Sf. Ioan (St. John), 23 April: Sf. Gheorghe (St. George), 21 May: Sf. Constantin şi Elena (St. Constantine and Helen), 29 June: Sf. Petru şi Pavel (St. Peter and Paul), 20 July: Sf. Ilie (St. Elias), 15 August and 8 September: Sf. Maria (St. Mary), 9 September: Sf. Ana (St. Ann), 14 October: Sf. Parascheva (St. Paraskeva), 26 October: Sf. Dumitru (St. Demetrios), 8 November: Sf. Mihail şi Gavril (St. Michael and Gabriel), 25 November: Sf. Ecaterina (St. Catherine), 30 November: Sf. Andrei (St. Andrew), 6 December: Sf. Nicolae (St. Nicholas), 27 December: Sf. Stefan (St. Stephen). Persons (especially women) who have no saint name or who only have a flower name celebrate their name day on Palm Sunday ( in Romanian, which roughly translates as "the Flowers Day"). This name day varies: it is celebrated each year on the last Sunday before Orthodox Easter.
Russia Russians celebrate name days () separately from birthdays. Some calendars note name days, but usually one must refer to a special name-day calendar. Celebrations range from the gifting of cards and flowers to full-blown celebrations similar to birthday parties. Such a celebration begins with attendance at the divine services marking that day (in the Russian tradition, the
All-Night Vigil and
Divine Liturgy), and usually with a festive party thereafter. Before the
October Revolution of 1917, Russians regarded name days as important as, or more important than, the celebration of birthdays, based on the rationale that one's baptism is the event by which people become "born anew" in Christ. The
Russian Imperial family followed a tradition of giving name-day gifts, such as a diamond or a pearl. References to name days in Russian literature and theatre include the entire first act of
Anton Chekhov's
Three Sisters, where Irina celebrates her name day,
Alexander Pushkin's
Eugene Onegin with the celebration of Tatiana's name day, and
Leo Tolstoy's
War and Peace, Book I, where both the mother and the youngest daughter of the Rostov family (referred to as Natalya and Natasha, respectively) celebrate their name day. Although the name day () celebration is not as popular as a birthday celebration, the Russian word for a person having a birthday (/) is still / (feminine: /), literally "a person whose name day is being celebrated").
Slovakia In Slovakia name days () are widely celebrated. Name days are more often celebrated than birthdays in workplaces, presumably because it is simpler to know the date since most calendars contain a list of name days, which can also be found in the header of daily newspapers. Celebrations in elementary schools are different from those within the family, as the celebrant gives candies to their classmates. Within the family, birthday-like celebrations are often held with cakes, presents and flowers. Flowers are sometimes sold out for popular name-days. In the past, the law did not allow parents to give their child a name that wasn't from the name-day list in the calendar. That has changed, although it is still common to choose a name from the calendar. The original list was the
Roman Catholic calendar of saints, but changes have been made to reflect the present-day usage of names.
Slovenia Name days () were widely celebrated and preferred over
birthday celebrations, until after
World War II and the advent of
Communism. In
rural areas as well as among certain strata of town people the custom of celebrating name days lasted longer. Nowadays, while the tradition has not been obliterated, name days are celebrated mostly among older people.
Spain Until recently, name days in Spain ( or ) were widely celebrated.
Onomásticos are not limited to saints but also include the celebration days of the different representations of the
Virgin Mary. For example, the name day of a woman named Carmen would be 16 July, day of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Currently, are still remembered in more traditional families, but are not generally celebrated with festive parties and presents as they were in the past. To celebrate name days, practising Catholics typically attend Mass and have some intimate family celebration. In Spain, children often take sweets or cake to school to share with their classmates.
Sweden depicting preparations for a name-day celebration. Oil on canvas, 1902. From the 18th century onwards, names used by the royal family were introduced to the Swedish list of name days, followed by other common names. In 1901 a comprehensive modernisation was made to make the list up to date with current names. The monopoly on almanacs, held by the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, expired in 1972 and so did the official name-day list. Competing name-day lists began to emerge, but the official list was still in general use until 1986 when the consensus of a new list with three names on each day was reached. This list was revised in 1993 and reduced to two names on each day. However, widespread dissatisfaction with the list prompted the
Swedish Academy to compile a new two-name list which was finally accepted and brought into use in 2001. Although it does not have the official status of the 1901 or older lists, it is now universally used in Sweden.
Ukraine Name days in Ukraine () are usually associated with
Ukrainian Orthodox,
Ukrainian Orthodox (Moscow Patriarchate), and
Ukrainian Catholic churches' celebrations of a day when a saint was born. ==See also==